Afternposten: Norwegian soldiers serving in Iraq are baffled by
politicians calling their mission a "humanitarian
action". Norway's forces consider themselves at war
and report that they have been instructed to fire if
they feel threatened, newspaper VG reports...BFO's web site there is a presentation of e-mails received from Norwegian soldiers serving in Iraq, and the group concludes that their reality has very little in common with how the situation is being presented. "The mission in Iraq is not a humanitarian one, here war continues, no matter what some politicians have said about the war being over," one soldier wrote.
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=678337
"This is war"
Norwegian soldiers serving in Iraq are baffled by politicians calling their mission a "humanitarian action". Norway's forces consider themselves at war
and report that they have been instructed to fire if
they feel threatened, newspaper VG reports.
"This is a lack of decency from Norwegian
politicians," Didrik Coucheron of the BFO (Officers
Organization).
On the BFO's web site there is a presentation of
e-mails received from Norwegian soldiers serving in
Iraq, and the group concludes that their reality has
very little in common with how the situation is being
presented. "The mission in Iraq is not a humanitarian
one, here war continues, no matter what some
politicians have said about the war being over," one
soldier wrote.
Other reports express bafflement about the expression
"humanitarian mission", describe battle conditions and
explain that their Rules of Engagement include combat
if threatened.
The BFO report questions media and political reports
that cover the Norwegian military effort in Iraq as an
important and humanitarian mission, voicing concerns
that information is being covered up to avoid the
embarrassing admission that the country is once again
involved in a war.
"Anyone can see that a uniformed soldier with a
helmet, shrapnel vest and an AG3 across his stomach is
a soldier and not a humanitarian construction worker,"
Coucheron told VG's web site.
Coucheron now wants Prime Minister Kjell Magne
Bondevik to publicly admit that Norwegian forces in
Iraq are at war, in line with the PM's admission
earlier this year that he should have called their
Kosovo effort a war.
Norway's soldiers in Iraq do not earn a basic risk
bonus of NOK 3,000 () a month - as their colleagues in
Afghanistan do - since their mission is defined as
humanitarian.
Aftenposten English Web Desk
Jonathan Tisdall